Holbrook man rides the rail in his backyard

Monday

Jun 30, 2014 at 12:03 AMJun 30, 2014 at 11:31 AM

John Smythe's passion for railroad led him to install 100 feet of ex-New Haven jointed railroad track in his Holbrook backyard, complete with working switch, switch stand, trackside signals and grade crossing signals – and a railcar which runs over the tracks.

HOLBROOK – Wearing a conductor’s cap, John Smythe flipped a switch, and the loud train crossing signal came to life with bells and flashing red lights.

But Smythe wasn’t warning people of an actual train – he was showing off his life-size, backyard train collection.

The impeccable setup outside his West Street home includes 100 feet of ex-New Haven jointed railroad track, complete with working switch, switch stand, track-side signals and grade crossing signals – and a railcar which runs over the tracks.

“I wouldn’t do this on weekends too much, just five or 10 seconds,” the 58-year-old Smythe, wearing overalls, said of sounding the loud train crossing signal, as it drowned out his voice.

Smythe said his backyard railroad honors his late grandfather, William A. Coggon, who grew up in North Easton and worked for the railroad, mostly on passenger trains from Boston to Providence. He died in 1975 at the age of 90.

Smythe said his love for the railroad grew from stories told by his late grandfather, who would often take him to visit Edaville Railroad in Carver.

A plaque bearing Coggon’s name sits at the end of Smythe’s railroad, where his backyard abuts the street. As a steam locomotive fireman in the early 1900s, Coggon earned about $2 a day, and shoveled coal, among other train duties, Smythe said.

Other artifacts that Smythe has include Coggon’s gold pocket watch and a tattered, brown book in which Coggon logged his train trips in his own writing.

Smythe assembled the train tracks in his backyard about 15 years ago, with materials he collected at antique stores and yard sales, and through a railroad club over the years. The train materials became available as the MBTA modernized its equipment, he said.

“They received old trolley cars, and tracks,” said Smythe, 58, who worked as a mechanic for 35 years. “I slowly started acquiring the pieces.”

Among Smythe’s artifacts is an old sign that once hung at South Station in Boston decades ago, bearing the words in red: “It’s faster by train.”

“To a man like me who made his living most of his life as a mechanic, I love to work with my hands,” he said. “Having 300,000 pounds of machinery thundering all around you is an experience you just can’t forget. Some people have alcohol in their blood, I have trains.”

His training as a mechanic came in handy for his hobby, said Smythe, who has restored steam locomotives. He has operated three steam locomotives in Connecticut, and regularly visits train tracks across New England with fellow railroad buffs.

“I’ve never seen anybody have such passion for anything as John does railroad,” said his girlfriend, Evelyn Marsala, 53, of Holbrook. “He put his heart and soul into that.”

Smythe and his family, who live about a mile from the commuter rail station in Holbrook, support the South Coast Rail project. Construction of the rail line, which will run through Stoughton, Raynham and Easton, is slated to begin in about five years.

“It’s become a necessity. They need the railroad. They need people to have transportation without cars,” said his mother, Thelma Smythe, 93.

Smythe said he doesn’t mind the sound of the train speeding by.

“It’s just something about those sounds, those smells, the whistleblowing, the bell ringing,” he said. “That brings out, at least for me and a lot of other guys, it brings out the rebirth of a child or something, getting that train set... it’s like living for that.”

In his backyard, Smythe bent down and touched a section of track made in 1886, by a steel company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, he said.

The track, he said, is known as 70-pound rail, which means it weighs 70 pounds per linear yard.

“I wasn’t born too late to try to save a piece of history for future generations to enjoy,” he said.

Maria Papadopoulos may be reached at mpapa@enterprise-news.com or follow on Twitter @MariaP_ENT.